Compiled By
K. SAMU
Human Rights Documentation,
Indian Social Institute, Lodi Road, New Delhi, India
Cabinet okays Rupees 2 lakh aid for farmer suicide-hit families (20)
Chandigarh, Mar 2 : The Punjab Cabinet today decided to provide financial assistance to the tune of
Rupees 2 lakh each to the families of farmers and farm labourers who were driven to commit suicide due
to farm indebtedness. Stating this here today, a spokesman of the Punjab Government said that the
Cabinet in its meeting chaired by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal decided to cover all such cases of
suicide since 2000 and directed all the Deputy Commissioners to provide the financial assistance of Rs 2
lakh to families of debt-ridden farmers and farm labourers who had committed suicide. (New Kerala
3/3/09)
Reverting to the AP farmers' demand, they want the proposed Commission should adopt a multi
component approach. The components include: i) Remunerative prices should be fixed for agricultural
produce. The pricing for agricultural commodities should be based on the real cost of production, that is
through neutralising the effect of inflation. The minimum support price should be 50% more than the
actual cost as recommended by the National Farmers' Commission. The determination of support should
be transparent and be announced before the beginning of the crop season. They also want a state-level
agricultural costs and prices commission and a price stabilisation fund. ii) Labour wage support should be
provided for agricultural operations. It is ironic that the agricultural workers are unable get employment
while the farmers are not able to afford agriculture workers due to increasing costs of living. The
government should therefore provide input subsidy in the form of labour wages (up to 100 days in a
calendar year) to the farmer to monetise the use of family labour or to pay external labour engaged on the
farm in order to support both the farmers and farm labourers. The activities to be supported should
include all agricultural operations, from sowing to harvesting. This can be operationalised on similar lines
as NREGS, or by suitably increasing the number of days covered under NREGS and extending it to
agricultural work.iii) Steps should be taken to increase rural employment opportunities. This should be
done through systematically promoting post-harvest operations and value addition enterprises at the
village level; the net income of farmers can thus be directly increased. By promoting agriculture-centred
small scale rural industry, the rural economy can be given a big boost, correcting the rural-urban
imbalance and migration. iv) There should be an arrangement for the social security measures like
pension and insurance to the farmers and farm labourers.
Cash support to farmers: Finally, and more importantly, arrangement should be made for direct income
support to farmers. Even after implementation of measures listed above, farmers are not expected to get
living income. The direct cash support is, therefore, necessary. They want this support in the form of a
fixed amount per family, given to all cultivators including tenant farmers. This direct cash support,
together with other measures, should ensure that every agricultural family can maintain a fair living
standard. This could be set at Rs 15,000 per family and revised every year by the Commission. The
farmers want support for sustainable ecological farming to ensure food security and livelihood support on
a sustainable basis. Small and marginal farmers in many parts of India have achieved success through
low-input sustainable methods which not only helped them but also boosted soil fertility. Farmers want the
government to promote sustainable agriculture to maximise the use of local resources. Farmers adopting
organic/ecological farming should also receive financial support from the government for their own input
use. They also want restrictions on agrochemicals that are banned the world over and a ban on GM crops
till their bio-safety is proven beyond doubt. Also, they want support for research in organic farming,
demonstrations by agricultural department on the success of organic farming and strengthening the
farmers' training centres in which the experienced farmers should be used as resource persons. These
demands of the farmers are not at all unreasonable, particularly for the direct cash transfer. This is
because they are not asking for the support without working. They want to engage in farming activity and
want support only to allow them to be in the profession; in other words they want a conditional cash
transfer scheme. In fact there have been repeated claims in the discourse on agriculture that farming on a
small scale is not viable and as much as 50% of the farmers can be withdrawn from the occupation
without affecting the total production. That means about 30 crore people are additionally depending on
agriculture. Considering this to be true and, as many farmers are willing to come out of agriculture, where
are the avenues of employment to them in the non-agricultural activity? If such employment is
guaranteed, there is no problem, but it is impossible for the government to do so. It therefore should
support the farmers and meet their reasonable demand including the cash support. Besides this need, the
bad state of agriculture in AP also calls for an urgent action to protect the farmers and farming. As many
as 16 of the 32 districts identified by the central government as worst affected are in AP. As many as
1797 farmers have committed suicide in 2007 (2607 in 2006) -- AP occupies the second place after
Maharashtra in farmers' suicides. Similarly, 82% of the farmers in the state are indebted and 66% to non-
institutional sources, as per NSSO data. The input costs of farming have risen by 300% in the past five
years and the prices of produce have not kept pace, leading the farmers into a crisis situation. So, the
cash support to 1.2 crore farmers of the state, which is estimated to cost Rs 25,000 crore or 25% of the
state's budget, is quite reasonable and warrants a serious consideration from political parties. In reality,
the actual cost may be much less than this estimate because the government is going to save on the
schemes of indirect support which are not found beneficial to the farmers. Even otherwise, this cost which
should be treated as an essential social cost for the enormous social benefit of supporting the farmers will
not be too much. Neglecting agriculture and avoiding timely measures will only lead to a catastrophic
situation. After all, it was agriculture, as admitted by the UPA government, that saved India from falling
into a deeper economic crisis. (DNA 8/4/09)
After their fathers' suicides, farmers' kids find hope in God (20)
PUNE: Among the lakhs of warkaris who entered the city as part of the annual pilgrimage on Wednesday,
a small group of children had a distinct identity. Some 60-odd children of farmers who committed suicide,
and now residing at an orphanage called Adar Tithya' at Triambakeshwar in Nashik, are led by Tryambak
Gaikwad on the wari (a pilgrimage). "Within the group, there are children as young as two years who live
at the orphanage and are unfortunate to have lost their fathers. In order to inculcate devotion for god and
also to give them a feel of what pilgrimage is, we took them along," Gaikwad told TOI. The children
donned white kurta payjamas with the traditional tilak on the forehead and saffron flags in their hands with
a few even carrying beating the cymbals. They joined the palkhi at Wakdewadi and walked till the
Dnyaneshwar Paduka chowk on Fergusson College road, a distance of eight kilometers. Monali Ghule, a
12-year old from Amravati, who is a part of this group, said, "I was here last year too. It gives us a sense
of pride participating in the palkhi and it is a great experience. Also, it allows us to forget all our sorrows
as we chant Dnyanba Tukaram'." This is the second year that the orphanage has brought the children to
this pilgrimage. Last year, it was a smaller group of 27 children, this year it has grown to 40 boys and 20
girls. Another participant, Vishal Raut from Parbhani said, "It is a feeling of oneness and gives us enough
strength to lead our lives strongly and forget the past. It has given me tremendous motivation looking at
the warkaris while some are even in their 90s seen walking undeterred." According to Gaikwad, "The
children are also spreading a message through their act. They are not just living in their sorrow but want
to tell people through this medium that farmers' suicide should stop. That no farmer should reach a stage
where he has to give up his life due to the conditions around him." The orphanage started three years ago
with destitute children from small villages in Dhule, Amravati, Parbhani, and the Vidarbha region other
districts. "Through this we also want to pray to god that let there be enough rain across the state this
year," said Sandeep Rajvanshi, another participant from Dhule. (Times of India 20/6/09)
Farmer commits suicide as bank staff fail to pay siphoned money (20)
LUCKNOW: A disillusioned 55-year-old farmer, who was deprived of Rs 32,000 from his bank account
allegedly by two employees of a local bank, consumed poison within the bank premises on Wednesday
afternoon and then walked up to the local police station in Moradabad to tell the cops about what he had
done. He breathed his last while being rushed to the district hospital. The victim was later identified as
Bharat Singh, a petty farmer from Bhoolapur hamlet in Khai Khera area in Moradabad. Police said that a
poor Bharat Singh had managed to collect around Rs 40,000 by pooling in his meagre savings over the
years. He had deposited his money at a local finance company by the name of Prathama Bank. On
March 30, when Bharat Singh reached the bank to withdraw Rs 700 from his account, he was shocked to
discover his account balance short of Rs 32,000. The amount was withdrawn from the account in one go
in the month of February. An illiterate, Bharat Singh immediately informed the bank manager who in turn
assured a proper inquiry and action into the case. On April 30, the bank inquiry concluded accusing the
assistant manager Hari Babu Bhardwai and cashier Pradeep Kumar Sharma of withdrawing the money
from Bharat Singh's account illegally. When Bharat asked the bank to lodge an FIR against the accused
employees, the two reportedly approached him begging forgiveness and assured him that they would
return his money back soon if he didn't pursue a police case against them. As the poor farmer was more
concerned to get his money back rather than getting the culprits arrested, he agreed not to report the
matter to the police. However, when Bharat failed to get his money back even after doing over 100
rounds of the bank and asking the accused employees to return his money, he was left frustrated and
disillusioned. On Wednesday afternoon Bharat again reached the bank and asked the two employees if
they had arranged for his money. When the two replied in the negative, Bharat reportedly left the scene
without uttering a word. However before stepping out of the bank, he consumed poison which he was
carrying with him. Bharat then walked up to the local Mudha Pandey police station and informed the
police that he had consumed poison because he was fed-up of approaching the bank staff for his money
which they had swindled and were now unwilling to repay. Shocked by Bharat's declaration, the cops first
rushed him to the local PHC from where he was referred to the district hospital when his condition
deteriorated. Bharat, however, breathed his last before he could reach the district hospital. Later his son
Pulendra lodged an FIR accusing the two bank employees of forcing his father to take such a drastic
step. The police later arrested the accused bank employees and sent them to jail. (Times of India 2/7/09)
Thousands protest against lack of drought relief work in Bidar district (20)
BIDAR: Thousands of National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) workers laid siege to the
Deputy Commissioner’s office in Karnataka’s Bidar district on Monday, in the first large-scale protest
against lack of drought relief work in a district which has seen nine farmers’ suicides in the last month.
The protesters were led by CPI(M) MP Brinda Karat, the former MLA, G.V. Sriram Reddy, State
Secretariat member of CPI(M) K. Neela. District units of the Akhila Bharatiya Janawadi Mahila Sangha
and Krishi Koolikarara Sangha were present. They urged the Union and State governments to take-up
relief work in the district, which has been declared drought-hit owing to scanty rainfall. The rally started
from the Ganesh Maidan and ended at Deputy Commissioner Harsh Gupta’s office where a
memorandum was submitted. Addressing a public meeting before the rally, Ms. Karat said the
government took several months to declare a district drought-hit and then did not immediately follow up
with relief work. NREGA wages were not being paid on time, she alleged. “There have been nine suicides
in the district this last month. Further complicating matters is the collapse of the public distribution system.
There is no work, no rationing, and prices are sky high.” Ms. Karat demanded an increase in the wage
rate to labourers under the NREGA to Rs. 100 a day. Calling for prompt payments to labourers, she said
the Act stated that payment should be made on the same day of work. However, the least that should be
done, she said, was to see to it that “payments to the individual accounts are made at least once in a
week.” The rally was to demand jobs for labourers under the NREGA and not to “beg” for it, she said. She
warned the officials concerned not to indulge in “fraudulent” activities such as collection of “commission”
from labourers for the work issued to them. Flaws in the policies of the Congress-led Union government
led to the rise in prices of essential commodities and it was the poor who were affected. A kilogram of tur
dal cost Rs. 100 and sugar about Rs. 35, she said. (The Hindu 18/8/09)
Farmers plead before WIO for protection against govt policies (20)
BHUBANESWAR, 8 DEC: "Withdraw your support from polluting industries, invest in organic agriculture
and remunerate us at par with the government and corporate employees. We will not commit suicide and
you will not have to spend so much to discuss ‘food insecurity due to climate change.'" This telling
message came from farmers and Water Initiatives Orissa (WIO), for the world leaders at Copenhagen.
Water Initiatives Orissa is a network of civil society organizations working on water and climate change
issues. As a build-up to the Fifteenth Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Fifth Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (COP 15 and
COP/MOP 5), WIO met hundreds of farmers and interacted with the rural population to collect their
"agenda" for the world leaders, who would be negotiating the future of this world at COP 15. Views of
widows and orphans of farmers who have committed suicide this year, due to failure of agriculture owing
to delayed and deficient rainfall, were taken into consideration while formulating the agenda. As expected,
the people have set an "agenda" that would not only help Orissa fight food insecurity in a changing
climate scenario but also teach the world some lessons on sustainable ways to adapt to climate change.
WIO team received thousands of interesting and heart-rending suggestions, appeals and warnings from
the farmers it met. "We are climate’s widows and orphans. It is failing us more regularly and intensely
than ever before. The recent suicides by our husbands/fathers/fellow farmers are because of the delayed
and insufficient rainfall which increased the heat in the area so much that insects like swarming
caterpillars stayed for longer days and multiplied in thousands, damaging our standing crops overnight,"
cried out affected relatives of farmers and the farmers themselves. "Our government is offering us
peanuts in terms of ex-gratia payments and subsidies in sprayer machines. Ask the government to
understand the real problem which is 'climate change' caused by its faulty policies and do something that
will last," said the orphaned. "We sacrificed land for the construction of the Hirakud dam, yet we do not
get assured irrigation. Industries, however get water from these dam. The industries which are as such
taking all our ground water, polluting our rivers and increasing the heat of the region are robbing us of our
water," the farmers lamented. (Statesman 9/12/09)
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